;
Porsche Boxster S
Car review: LUKE MADDEN
What is it?
This is the all-new Porsche Boxster S. It’s powered by a 311bhp 3.4-litre engine and sits at the top of the Boxster line-up, just above the 261bhp 2.7-litre model. Starting from around £45,384, it’s one of the cheapest Porsches you can buy and judging by our experience, that is an incredible bargain. The Boxster S is so much fun that you’ll wonder if you actually need a 911 after all. 
;
What’s hot?
- The styling of the Boxster has always been controversial but you can’t deny that this latest generation is a gorgeous car. The boot spoiler that flows in to the tail lights is fantastic.
- The cabin is much improved too. There are still a few hard plastics but the design looks stylish, premium and modern.
- But the best is yet to come… it’s how it drives that makes the Boxster S so brilliant. With the manual gearbox fitted to our test car, acceleration from 0-62mph takes 5.1 seconds.
- Go for the PDK automatic gearbox and Sports Chrono Pack and that drops to 4.8 seconds.
- And in the corners there’s practically no body roll, making the Boxster feel incredibly agile. The steering is so accurate and talkative too.
- It’s an optional extra but we’d say go for the Sports exhaust. The noise it makes is spine-tingling, but even without it the Boxster S sounds fantastic.
What’s not?
- If you’re after comfort then don’t go for the Boxster S. The ride isn’t particularly bad, it’s just very firm and you’ll have to tackle speed bumps very slowly indeed.
- It’s also not a particularly practical car, with just 150 litres of storage in the front and 130 litres of space in the rear.
- There are quite a few expensive options you’ll probably want to add to your Boxster S, bringing the price up to more like £55,000.
- For such a sporty car fuel consumption of 32.1mpg and CO2 emissions of 206g/km aren’t too bad but they’ll certainly make it expensive to tax and fuel.
- …. But going for the PDK gearbox actually improves these figures to 35.3mpg and 188g/km.
;
Porsche Car Review: Business Car Manager Verdict
Unless you absolutely need – or want – a 911, the Boxster S really is all the Porsche you’ll ever need. It’s incredible to drive, it sounds amazing and thanks to a styling overhaul it looks better than ever too. 
